St. Baldrick's Participants to Honor Man Killed in 2010 Plane Crash

Participants shave their heads during a Jarvis Square St. Baldrick's event.
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Sam Hamilton

ROGERS PARK — Amy Kelly of Rogers Park won't just shave her head to raise money for childhood cancer research Saturday in Jarvis Square.

She'll do it for the memory of her brother, Sean Kelly — a lover of children and a staunch supporter of the St. Baldrick's Foundation — who was killed in 2010 when the small plane he was traveling in crashed into the ocean on the way home to California from a Mexico surfing trip.

"My brother Sean was a fun guy. He loved life. He lived to the fullest and he gave back in any way, shape or form possible," Kelly said of her brother, who was 44 when he died.

To carry on her brother's "legacy," Kelly said dozens of supporters will be shaving their heads for Jarvis Square's third annual St. Baldrick's event from noon-6 p.m. Saturday, which is also the day her brother would have turned 48.

Amy Kelly holds a photo of her late brother, Sean Kelly, while getting her head shaved to raise money for cancer research.
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"Each year it’s gotten bigger — this year’s gonna be pretty big," Kelly said, adding that Jarvis Avenue would be blocked off for most of the day and a large, heated tent — with a beer garden — would be set up on the pavement.

Sean Kelly was a Chicago-area native and avid surfer who lived in Hermosa Beach, Calif., with his wife Laura Mani-Kelly.

"I love [the event] because Sean was really a caring person," said Mani-Kelly, who plans to travel with nine of her friends from Hermosa to Chicago on Friday ahead of the festivities. "It brings everyone back together."

Her late husband told her he wanted to shave his head every year for St. Baldrick's, she said.

Now the growing event, which brings together hundreds, would be exactly what he would have wanted, she said.